103 'Johns' Arrested Trying To Buy Sex In Monthlong Sting

HOUSTON, TX — The process seems fairly easy for John when he searches online to find a female for a brief sexual encounter in exchange for cash. John finds an online ad, responds electronically and sets up a rendezvous at a local motel. John gets there and things get complicated. The woman he's there to meet winds up being an undercover cop posing as a prostitute. John's cuffed, read his rights and hauled off to county jail.

Despite several stings over the years, Houston still has a growing demand for people like John seeking prostitutes, so human trafficking sees an uptick to fill demand.

In a sting last month by Harris County Sheriff's Office, 103 men were arrested for trying to buy sex from someone they encountered online. More than 30 U.S. law enforcement agencies participated in the “15th National Johns Suppression Initiative.” There were 638 arrested in a nationwide effort, meaning more than 16 percent of all arrests happened in Harris County.

"We are disturbed that the demand for the illegal sex trade remains strong in Harris County despite sting operations like the one we just conducted," said Chief Edison Toquica with the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

According to HCSO, nine motels participated in the sting that brought the arrests of men who encompassed all races and a wide age range.

These arrests were made Jan. 7 - Feb. 4 on-site as part of an operation "intended draw attention to the exploitive nature of the sex trafficking industry and reduce the demand for purchased sex."

"Men who are out seeking to buy sex should know they are contributing to criminal human trafficking networks that victimize some of our community’s most vulnerable residents," said Toquica. "I want to commend our Sheriff’s Office Vice Unit for putting in the hard work to protect human trafficking victims by putting their customers in jail."

Harris County prosecutors said they will aggressively litigate these cases , and that those convicted should expect jail time and probation instead of a pretrial intervention class.

Patch file photo from a 2017 Johns sting